September 16, 2011

Well, the season's almost over for our Chicago Cubs, but there's still 6 opportunities to get out to Wrigley Field before we turn our attention to the good fortunes and playoff hopes of all the other jerk teams in baseball.I already had a couple days where I thought, "Maybe not such a good idea for flip flops today," and not just because I had a client meeting.No, that dang weather is turning a tad chilly.So it's a perfect time to get out the happiest shoes I own, my "Kerouacs" by Sanuk.Work permitting, I'll head down to Wrigley for a little action with the Houston Dis-Astros (thanks for that one, Stacey).Even though I only recognize Carlos Lee and Humberto Quintero in their lineup, I still hate them.The good thing is since most of their "name" guys got traded, they're playing lots of kids.I'm hoping Mike Quade will find it in his heart to play the kids all weekend like he did just a little bit ago.

Last night got kind of exciting at the end with the Cubs tying it up in the 9th.Tony Campana gets a hit off Cincy stud closer Francisco Cordero, and that's just plain exciting because Tony is a professional distraction.Then Soriano hits a double, Campana of course rounds 'em, Castro hits a perfect sac fly to move Soriano, and then Darwin Barney hits a "kangaroo hop" up the middle past the drawn-in infield.Tied.(Hadn't heard "kangaroo hop" in a hundred years - that was Pat Huges of course.)

They lost it later, but still a good game to listen to.

In case you've forgotten, there's still an auction going on.I've got an original pastel up, and a spirited competition between the above mentioned Stacey Manela and Tom E.If you feel like getting in on the action, it's for a really great cause - WriteGirl.See details in the post titled, "Original Cubby Blue Wrigley art auction for WriteGirl".And thanks to everybody who has participated in the bidding.

Lastly, the Sanuks.These guys figured out a way to take your basic flip flop and put cool canvas on it for about the lightest shoe you can imagine. No socks necessary. Perfect for the park.

September 14, 2011

Poor Casey Coleman might get left in Cincinnati, because I think he's going to miss the bus to 2012.Think of all the things that happened to get him here - he isn't really here because his talent demanded it, is he?I mean, of course he's got talent, but it's not like people were clamoring for him like Starlin Castro.He happened to be the next guy in line after injury and craziness sidelined the guys in front of him.He happened to be the next guy in line when the Chicago Cubs stunk it up, and needed somebody to come throw some innings and help get them thru the rest of a revolting season.He happened to be the next guy in line after Jim Hendry brought in old hacks like Doug Davis who bombed and lost their shot.

But even though the Cubs are rotten this year, this kind of opportunity doesn't happen real often.Where you're given the keys to the room where they keep all the winning lottery tickets.And poor Casey used them on the wrong door.If you go to his ESPN page, you'll see a bunch of red Ls after his name.Looks like this:

Not so good.Yeah well, you know I really like the kid and his determination, but now I think if we see Casey Coleman anywhere near the starting rotation for the Cubs next year, it sure won't be in April.I mean, he had a pretty big chunk of time to put in a couple nice starts, and maybe he gets one or two more, but...

Cubs lose to the Reds 2 to 7, Johnny Cueto might have hurt himself with a strained muscle in his back, Starlin Castro got 2 more hits on his way to plus 200, and Reed Johnson got hit by a pitch that (if I heard Len and Bob correctly) lands him on the top ten list of active hit batsmen.

And the really sad news is that Brian Urlacher's mom died unexpectedly.Just awful.

Guys, so sorry but seriously it's just bad-busy right now.This is an old one from September 25th, 2007, the Cubs would clinch the Central in 4 days.It's one of my favorite illustrations, and even if this post is kind of corny, I read it once in awhile and think back on when the Cubs were more...vital, I guess.Here's hoping whoever the new Cubs' GM turns out to be brings this back.

Wellll, we all got to take a break last night.I did this painting awhile back (you can also see it in this month’s VINE LINE), and it seems like a good time to put it in the blog.Hope.There’s probably all kinds if you think about it.There’s Spontaneous Yet Forgettable Hope: “I HOPE YOU GET A FLAT TIRE YA BIG LANE-CHANGIN’ CUTTER-OFFER GUY!”There’s Big Important Hope, like I hope for my children to be happy and that Man hasn’t messed up the planet too badly for them.And then there’s Cub Hope.It’s kinda frivolous, really, but it also has it’s place on the importance scale.Lucky for you, I’m incapable of deepness.I don’t use big words like predestination or existentialism or uh, incisor.So I’ll simply say that Cub Hope, for those of us who possess it, is a vital hope, one that unites us as believers in the possibility of greatness coming from mediocrity.Why do I hope Matt Murton does well?Because he’s 100% Cub by the very definition of the word - the only way he does well is by working longer and harder with more purpose and belief in himself than any player with more god-given talent.(While Pat Hughes might say, “…and Murton is under the ball…” what he’s really thinking is “…and Murton is under the ball and I HOPE HE CATCHES IT…”)

Anyway, I believe that Wrigley Field is THE shrine to Cub Hope.And I hope you take a moment to look at this painting and reflect on this season, the players, Lou, the possibilities, and…HOPE THE CUBS KILL THE MARLINS!

Last thing, bidding still going on for original art to benefit WriteGirl. Details here for the art, and this is a link to Colleen Wainwright's Communicatrix site, where she's got some kind of impossibly cool and inspiring news to share about "50 for 50", her wonderful idea.

September 12, 2011

How nice is it to have that Brian Urlacher back in our sport lives?10 tackles, fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, and that fabulous interception - that's some game he brought out yesterday.I seem to remember Matt Ryan only experiencing wins against the Bears - like that game in 2008? The horrible 22-20 loss with the last second field goal after the Bears had taken the lead with 11 seconds left?Yesterday must have been such a disappointment for Matt, I'm so sorry for him.Seriously, I had the worst feeling about this game, and I'm still kinda shocked at how badly the Bears just kicked. Ass.Plus, just seeing a Full Monty Sunday of professional football was like a rocket ride.

And then the Cubs?I went to bed figuring they lost that one.SIX runs in the 11th for a 10-6 W?Tyler Colvin's bat wakes up, Bryan LaHair is FREAKING ME OUT, Darwin Barney does well, and Jeff Samardjiza - he's been the poster child for Hendry Failure, but something is changing with that guy.I rubbed my eyes to make sure I read "99" on the radar.

Kind of a nice Sunday, eh?

Okay, I'm gonna remind every day til 2 Sundays from now to please bid on the Wrigley Art for WriteGirl.Details here.Thanks!

September 11, 2011

Hi Guys.So the person who got me into blogging and used to be my writing partner way back when at ad agency Bayer Bess Vanderwarker, Colleen Wainwright, is raising money for a fabulous cause: WriteGirl. In Colleen's words, WriteGirl "teaches writing and communications skills to high school girls from under-served areas of L.A., gets them into college (100% placement rate!) and are all-around amazing."

Colleen is remarkably determined, of course her passion is writing, and she's trying to raise $50,000 in 50 days for these kids.Why?It's Colleen's 50th birthday, and she wants to give rather than receive.Her program is called "50 for 50", here's the website.

This kind of gesture brings me to my knees, guys.

She actually already met her goal, and I'm very late to the party, but I'd like to help too.So what I've been doing this whole weekend is working on a Wrigley Field illustration to put up for auction:It's done in pastels, the paper is 20" x 25.5".Notice how I left the black area on the Wrigley Sign blank?That's because I will personalize this illustration by putting a message there.Whoever "wins" the auction can have me put like, "Welcome Bob Smith" (or whatever name) in there, so it looks like it's on the sign.Or hell, you can have me put, "Jim Hendry Fired!" or "WE WANT RYNO!" or anything at all, just not too long.Whatever the message, it would make an AWESOME holiday gift for any Cub Fan.So PLEASE help - put in a bid, or forward this to people or a business who might want to bid.You can put a bid in comments, or you can email me at the address in the upper right paragraph.I'll create a list or something on the right hand column that will display the bids.If you'd like to remain anonymous, I won't mention your name.We'll keep this up for 2 weeks and at 5 pm on Sunday, September 25th, whoever has the high bid gets the art.

Now, for the Cubs.I was listening while doing this pastel.What is up with this Bryan LaHair guy?It's like he stopped at Ollivanders in Diagon Alley on his way to Wrigley Field and had Harry Potter give him some advice on applying magic wand properties to his bat.Every time the guy comes into a game, he gets a giant, clutch hit.Yesterday he smacks a double in the decisive 9th, Colvin pinch runs for him, and then Mets' manager Terry Collins proves to be a complete moron when he decides to pitch to Aramis Ramirez with first base open, 2 outs, and Tony Campana on deck.What?Yeah, that really happened, and Aramis knocks both runs in, the Cubs re-take the lead and win 5-4.Awesome game.

Then, I turned the Notre Dame/Michigan game on.Oh man, talk about bad coaching.I guess you could call the end of that game "thrilling", but in reality it was just boobish, with each team handing over the lead like they didn't know what to do with it.I'm PRAYING that that bad football doesn't keep showing up on my tv, as I'm about to turn on the Bears in about an hour and a half.

Here's what the pastel looked like during the course of the weekend:

My Bud gives you an idea of scale...

NOW COME ON, LETS SEE SOME BIDS!

Lastly, September 11, 2001.You don't need me to remind you, I'm sure, but I'm thinking about it pretty much all day.Don't really have much more to say than that.

September 09, 2011

My whole adult life, I've had a shoulder bag for work stuff.I have this big calcium bump on my shoulder from an old busted collarbone, and that bump works as a natural "hook" to keep shoulder bags from slipping off my shoulder.It works great, except as time has gone by, my back started to bark at me once in awhile. I figure it's because I'm carrying stuff off center, right?So I got a backpack (Patagonia - you guys know I'm a big fan of their stuff).Hadn't had one since a month-long stint in the boy scouts, before you were born.

If you don't have one, get one - you'll find that they're life-changing. Like, before the backpack, NO WAY was I walking the mile or so to the Jeff Park train station because that's just too damn far with a cumbersome shoulder bag (laptop, art crap - my bag is heavy).But I get the backpack, and suddenly I've taken the train more this summer than I had the last 10 years.

It's my new toy of the summer, not kidding.

So it's about my 12th time doing the backpack/train thing, and now I'm walking down Lake street into the gorgeous morning sun towards Michigan, little bluebirds are tweeting around me as I whistle along, when suddenly I see my reflection in a window and...I am horrified.For some reason my shirt has ridden all the way up my back under my backpack, exposing miles of embarrassing backfat - stuff I created with Budweiser and pancakes over the course of many, many years.So if you happened to be walking behind me, this is what you'd see:

Totally apologize if you were walking back there.

No idea what causes this - it's got something to do with friction between backpack and my back and the repetition of walking.Whatever man, there's no getting around it.So now I walk about half a block, reach back and pull my shirt back into it's proper place.It's like I'm learning how to walk again.

Which is what I wish Cub batters would do.I was thinking about Carlos Pena the other day.Did you know he's 3rd in the NL in walks with 87?Did you also know that the Cubs are tied with the Houston Astros for last place in team walks with 361?Without Pena, the Cubs would have, uhh, lets see.. bring over the one, 11-7=4, 15-8=7.. they'd have only 274 walks?Carlos Pena, he's a home run hitter, right?Cecil Fielder is too - he's ahead of Pena in walks and I'd expect Fielder to be way up there because pitchers pitch around the guy, right?Sure they throw around Pena, but not like Prince.Pena - I'm trying to think of the last time I saw a Cub with so much patience at the plate.He works it like nobody else, and REALLY like nobody else on the Cubs.

So, just saying - if I'm one of the Cub kids, I'd be paying close attention to Pena's approach.He's from a different culture, you kids, and there's something to be learned there.

Cubby-Blue

is an art blog following the Chicago Cubs with cartoons, gifs, animations, and illustrations by me, Tim Souers.
I began the illustrations in 2003 - you can find the links to the 2003 - 2006 seasons below.
2007 - present is in the regular archives.
Feel free to contact me at CubbyDashBlue(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thanks for visiting, and go Cubs.

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